When Jaskier joined the wolves at breakfast early the next morning, Lambert looked up from his stew with a broad smile.

"Ah, the songbird… Joinin' us at last!" He started sniffing the air around the bard. "Geralt's stench is all over you."

Jaskier calmly returned his gaze while somewhat carefully sitting down. "That wouldn't be entirely surprising seeing as I slept in his room last night." His tone was light today, a weight seemingly lifted off his shoulders.

The look on Lambert's face brightened some more. "Oh! So there's some truth to all those rumors after all…!"

Jaskier didn't seem fazed in the slightest. "And what rumors would that be, good Sir?"

Lambert grinned. "That you're more than just Geralt's 'barker'." He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. "That your lips do a lot more than just sing…"

"Oh, they do!" Jaskier immediately agreed. "Just not to your brother." A quick wink.

For just one moment, Lambert actually appeared to be speechless while the rest of the witchers erupted in laughter.

"Well, then… how 'bout some breakfast?"

Before Jaskier could even respond, Coën already got up and brought a steaming bowl back for him.

The bard gave him a nod and a small smile. "Thank you, Master Witcher."

"You're welcome. – Sing for us tonight?"

The thought made Jaskier smile again.

"Well, I'm not so sure that everybody would be happy about that… Plus, I don't have – nor could I even play – my lute right now."

"You need that to sing? – Feels like a long fuckin' winter already, so some stories or somethin' would be nice."

"He is resting today," Vesemir immediately stifled the idea. "Tomorrow, we'll see how he's doing."

"If this is something I can contribute, I would be happy to–"

"Tomorrow."

Both Coën and Jaskier reflexively bowed their heads slightly in acceptance.

Vesemir watched the bard stir his stew with a wooden spoon for a while and was briefly reminded of the many children that had once frequented these halls, usually more interested in playing with their food than in actually eating it.

"Is the pain better or worse than yesterday?" He nodded towards Jaskier's hand that he kept resting in his lap.

"About the same?"

"That a question or an answer."

Jaskier smiled. "An answer. It is not markedly better, but it is also definitely not any worse."

Vesemir nodded slightly. "And the nausea…?"

"A little bit better than the last couple of days."

Another nod. "Then I want you to actually eat some of the stew Coën so thoughtfully provided for you, even if your instincts tell you otherwise. Your body is trying to fight off an infection – you need your strength for that."

Then, turning towards Geralt: "Are there any plans for Yennefer to return to Kaer Morhen? Or Triss maybe?"

The white-haired witcher immediately frowned at that.

"Why…? – Vesemir, just how bad is this injury?!"

A small shrug. "It's a serious wound, but it's not life-threatening." Then, more quietly: "Nerve damage is a possibility though, which we very much want to avoid." He then lifted his head to look at Jaskier: "I will work on one of our potions today to make it safe for human consumption. – You're gonna be fine."

"Of course he's gonna be fine!" Lambert again. He threw his mentor an incredulous look. "It's two fuckin' fingers on one fuckin' hand! He's not even a fighter… Who the fuck cares about some damaged nerves?!"

"That is enough, Lambert!" Vesemir raised his voice before Geralt could. "He's not a fighter, but he needs those fingers to play his instrument."

Lambert just rolled his eyes at that. "Of course… The fuckin' lute again."

"I will not have you make any more fun of his profession!" Vesemir abruptly pushed himself to his feet and fixed his unyielding gaze on the younger witcher. "This human has invested the last two decades of his life trying to make our lives better. He has changed the response of half the fucking continent from trying to kill us in our sleep to throwing coins at us from every direction. And something tells me that the injuries he has suffered now are not totally unrelated to our family either… So the very least we can do now is to stop pestering him for two seconds and instead see to it that he recovers! His health and his ability to play." Then, much more quietly again: "Yes, he's a bard; yes, it is a whole different world from what we are doing. But he has been with your brother every step of the way since he was barely even an adult. Supported Geralt through, I'm sure, countless injuries and difficulties when none of us was even nearby. Made his life… if nothing else, then certainly brighter. He is – in his own way – a part of this family now, whether you like it or not. – And this is the last we're speaking of this."

Stunned silence.

Then, Lambert carefully began to speak again in a weak attempt to defend himself: "I was just joking! Didn't mean nothin' by it," he mumbled first into Vesemir's, then Jaskier's direction.

"I'm sure everybody will be happy to hear that." Vesemir finally sat down again and threw the assembled round of witchers a somewhat milder glance. "Some help in the lab today would be appreciated."

.

They had all helped and when Jaskier was finally allowed to sing for them, five nights later, Lambert made sure to keep the ale coming for the man before – towards the end of the night – carefully making one request.

"Sing our song for us?"

Jaskier immediately smiled. "They're basically all your songs, my dear… witcher." But his good left hand already started gently clapping out the background rhythm of 'Toss a coin'. "I would have thought you were all absolutely tired of it by now…"

"Heard it lots of times, but never from you!" somebody remarked from the background.

"Also: What Vesemir said," Coën agreed. "Pretty much doubled my earnings just with tips from random people now…" He brought over another bowl of nuts for the bard, which brought an amused smile to Geralt's lips. None of them were exactly the nurturing type, but Vesemir's 'speech' had made an impression on his brothers. And on himself as well: He had been respecting what Jaskier did for a long time now, but he had never seen his music as a sort of weapon as well, which he had been quietly (or not so quietly…) using to fight for them while they were all busy slaying monsters.

His attention was drawn back to the bard who now nodded at the group. "Then 'Toss a coin' it is…" With that he fell into an easy rendition of the song with some slightly modified melodic parts that made up for the missing background music.

Geralt couldn't help but smile slightly at the whole scene and the easy companionship that had so quickly developed between the bard and his brothers. He really didn't fit in here – with his brightly colored clothes and blatantly obvious intelligence – but at the same time, he seemed to fit perfectly. Because he had a good heart and easily managed to extend his love for Geralt to the whole witcher family. And they had needed this: some entertainment and joy in the midst of all the tragedy, and Jaskier's light spirit against the gravity of war and history.

His quiet musings were interrupted by Vesemir who now walked up to him raising his cup.

"So… This is your bard."

Another small smile. "Hmmm…"

"Hope he won't be a stranger after this."

"That is… highly unlikely."

"So he knows again where he stands with you?"

"I hope so." He looked at Jaskier again and felt himself nod. "I think so…"

"Love is something rare in our lives… It should be cherished."

Another nod. "I know." Then, Geralt turned his head slightly to look at his mentor. "I'm not gonna make the same mistake again, Vesemir."

"No," the older witcher confirmed with a nod of his own, "you're not one to do that."

"Thanks for… setting me straight."

A small shrug. "T's what I'm here for."

This time it was Geralt who raised his cup. "To love and stupidity?"

Vesemir laughed.

"Yeah… Let's drink to that."

The end :) Until next time!